Brexit food export chaos feared
Inspections of goods at borders could restrict the number of shipments that are able to leave each day
EFFORTS are being made to prevent a potential collapse in exports of products from Murcia to the UK, due to problems resulting from Brexit.
Regional president Fernando López met last week with representatives of numerous professional organisations in the fruit and vegetable, food and agriculture, and transport sectors.
They drafted a letter to the minister for agriculture, Luis Planas, expressing concerns about lack of adaptation to new requirements for fruits and vegetables, which will come into force on April 1.
They fear that the additional declarations required for plant health certificates could cause a bottleneck, and will imply physical inspections of goods at borders that could restrict the number of shipments that are able to leave each day.
Furthermore, the border personnel assigned by the national government do not have enough staff or means to inspect all the goods destined for export.
It is estimated that at least 50% more inspections will be required, but this figure could be much higher for areas which produce as much as Murcia.
Murcia region currently exports over 483,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables and over 140,000 tonnes of processed produce to the UK, worth a total of €537 million and €115 million respectively.
The letter calls for more
information about the procedures which are required for every one of these products, unification of export (SOIVRE) and border (PCF) control inspections, and more inspection personnel.